. >>> 24 this morning on "meet the press," mitt romney needs a game changer. is the first presidential debate it? >>> his back now against the wall, romney is behind in all of our background polls. the candidate presses for a rebound. >> we do not want four more years of where we've been. i represent a different path. >>> president obama meantime tries to seize the moment as early voting begins around the country, offering a closing argument. >> when i took office, we were losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month and were mired in a rut. today i believe that as a nation we are moving forward again. >> this morning, the state of the race. a debate preview, and a look at the issues that will sway undecided voters. with us, republican governor of new jersey, the keynoter at the gop convention, chris christie. and for the obama campaign, the architect of his 2008 run, now white house senior adviser david plouffe. finally, insights and analysis from our political roundtable. joining us, conservative activist and founder of the faith and freedom coalition ralph reed. form